Boulder – The shot clock ticked down with Colorado holding a dicey three-point lead over Kansas State. Less than three minutes remained. Buffs forward Chris Copeland, knowing every possession was critical, dribbled the ball on the perimeter, wondering whether he should hoist a jumper.
Feeling the pressure build and the home crowd holding its breath, Copeland suddenly spotted someone flashing to his left. It was sophomore guard Richard Roby, losing his defender with a sharp, backdoor cut on the baseline. An easy pass from Copeland resulted in a layup by Roby and the Buffs held on 79-75.
“A heck of a play by Roby,” CU assistant Paul Graham said. “I’m not sure he would have done that last year.”
Coaches call it “spectating” when players stand still on offense. Roby did too much spectating as a freshman.
These days, Roby moves everywhere and seemingly is everywhere, putting the Buffs (15-3) on his back to a No. 25 ranking in the latest coaches poll heading into today’s game at Iowa State.
“Rich has been given a lot of credit because he’s scoring a lot of points,” Copeland said. “I think what people should really realize is he has made advances in every facet of his game. He worked hard to make that happen.”
During Colorado’s current five-game winning streak, the 6-foot-6 Roby is averaging 25.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and umpteen smiles per game. He’s the hottest player on one of the hottest teams in the Big 12. The Buffs’ emergence into the national rankings this past week was their first since another superstar guard, Chauncey Billups, refused to let his team lose during the 1996-97 season.
“The one thing I’ve always said about Roby is he has some Chauncey Billups characteristics,” CU coach Ricardo Patton said, listing desire at the top of that list.
One of the first challenges facing Roby was learning to move without the ball. That does not come naturally to scorers.
“In high school I never had to do it,” Roby said. “I was used to just having the ball and breaking down the defender.”
At the Division I level, however, Roby often dribbled into too many blockades as a freshman. Once that happened, he would pass the ball out. And then stand around. Spectating.
“Rich is learning that we want teams to have to look for him to find him,” Graham said.
The days of Roby imitating a statue on the court are over. He is in constant motion.
“As a team, we look for whoever is open,” Copeland said. “Rich seems to be doing the best job of getting open.”
Roby has realized that roaming the court makes it easier to contribute in other ways. He found he was getting in better position for offensive rebounds. He found teammates easier for passes. And on defense, he has made a habit of drifting into passing lanes for steals.
The end result is that he’s stuffing the stat sheet, particularly during CU’s five-game Big 12 winning steak. In addition to mega-games of 33 points in the last-second win at Missouri and 30 points at home against Nebraska, Roby snared seven rebounds three times and dished out three assists twice. And he disrupted Oklahoma State’s offense with six steals in an overtime victory.
“(Roby) has improved in all areas,” Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said.
The six steals against the Cowboys were pivotal, and for Roby, that was personally gratifying. Patton said Roby might have been his team’s worst defender a year ago. Now he not only defends, but can hit the boards. His season average of 5.2 rebounds ranks third among Big 12 guards.
In working to become a complete player, Roby figured his offense might suffer. Much to his surprise, the opposite occurred. By putting more work into other phases of his game, he has become a better shooter.
“What happens is, if you concentrate on other areas, offense becomes second nature and you don’t press as much,” Patton said. “The scoring will come.”
Roby entered weekend play as the Big 12’s fifth-leading scorer (18.5). In conference action, he led with 22.6 points per game. Overall, he ranked 11th in field-goal shooting (.484) and was second in 3-point accuracy (.451). As a freshman, Roby hit .445 of all shots, just .374 from beyond the arc.
“It seems like when you have a steal or make an assist or grab a rebound, it helps your confidence,” Roby said of the difference this season. “That helps you make the next shot.”
Iowa State coach Wayne Morgan said his team must “throw everything at him except the kitchen sink” today in Ames. Morgan recruited Roby heavily out of Lawrence (Mass.) Academy two years ago and said he believes he has an NBA future. Roby, half-brother of the Nuggets’ Kenyon Martin, believes it, too.
While he said he’s leaning toward returning to school next season, Roby is leaving open the possibility of going pro. It has become a hot topic on campus.
“A lot of people are asking me what I’m going to do,” Roby said. “I try not to let it get to me. I try to keep things in perspective and worry what I’m doing right here in Colorado.”
An NBA Eastern Conference scout, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Roby possesses the talent to play in the league but would be better off staying at CU at least another year.
“He should stay (in school), but with them losing all those seniors I am sure he would look into leaving,” the scout said. “If he came back next year, he enters the season as a legitimate All-American.”
Colorado men at Iowa State
When: Noon, today
Where: Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa
TV/radio: Alt/KKZN 760 AM
Notes: CU’s No. 25 ranking by the coaches is its first appearance in a national poll since the 1996-97 season. … Colorado won 54-52 in overtime last year at Iowa State, the Buffs’ third win in 29 trips to Ames since 1977. … CU junior guard Marcus Hall (back spasms) expects to start. … Iowa State went a combined 30-4 at home in coach Wayne Morgan’s first two years, but the Cyclones have lost five times in Ames this season and lost another game in Des Moines. “We’re just not doing a good job of holding serve at home,” Morgan said. … Iowa State boasts one of the nation’s top backcourts, but its young frontcourt players can be pushed around. Cyclones have been outrebounded by 6.4 boards per game in league play.
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
